Yield monitoring is an increasingly important aspect of precision agriculture in which farmers collect and process data pertaining to all aspects of farm operations such as fertilization, pest control, planting, soil conditions, rainfall, crop yields, and locations of various activities. Yield monitoring refers to operations which sense the mass flow of grain being harvested as well as the moisture content of the grain. When this data is correlated with GNSS position data, a farmer can derive an accurate assessment of varying crop yield from field to field, or within the same field.
Grain moisture is important for several reasons. More specifically, the moisture content of the grain affects decisions pertaining to the harvesting, drying, and storage of grain, both at the farm and at grain elevators. Thus, by monitoring the moisture content of the grain, a farmer can derive a better estimate of the actual yield of marketable grain. Furthermore, the farmer can decide whether to store the grain at the farm, whether to dry the grain, or whether to deliver to a grain elevator. Furthermore, the moisture content of the grain affects its selling price. In another example, a farmer is paid for grain having a defined moisture content (e.g., 12%). If the moisture content of the grain is above 12%, the selling price of the grain decreases. Thus, it is convenient, and increasingly important, for a farmer to have a precise measurement of the moisture content of harvested crops.